This invention relates to a knife, and more particularly to a knife having an integral gated attachment.
Many knives are intended to be conveniently carried on the person of the user of the knife, and a number of carrying approaches have been devised. For example, smaller knives with folding implements, termed pocket knives, are carried in the pocket of the user. Fixed-implement knives such as conventional hunting knives and some types of folding-implement knives are provided with a sheath or pouch that is carried on the belt of the user. The knife itself is held in the sheath or pouch either by friction or with a strap. The knife is removed from the sheath or pouch when the knife is to be used.
In some situations, it is desirable that the knife be carried externally to the clothing of the user for quick access. A belt clip on the body of the knife allows the knife to be clipped to the belt of the user. A lanyard strung through a hole in the knife body permits the knife to be carried around the neck of the user or otherwise releasably attached to the body or equipment of the user. A nonintegral clip through a hole in the knife body can be used to attach the knife to other objects, as for example with a small knife attached by a clip to a keychain.
Each of the available approaches has limitations and shortcomings in specific situations. Carrying a knife in a pocket limits the size of the knife and also may make it difficult to extract the knife from the clothing. A sheath or pouch adds weight and may be awkward to use. The belt clip is limited as to the nature of the structure to which it is clipped. A knife carried on a lanyard or nonintegral clip can swing wildly, and the lanyard may become tangled.
There is a need for an attachment approach which is compact and allows the knife to be releasably attached to other articles. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.
The present invention provides a knife with an attachment structure that is particularly convenient for attaching the knife to a wide variety of other articles to which attachment is otherwise difficult. The ability to attach the knife to large or bulky articles is particularly facilitated. The attachment structure is smoothly integral with the knife body, so that it does not risk entanglement with clothing or other structure and is not unsightly. The invention also provides a knife construction that structurally integrates the attachment structure into the body of the knife for strength, for improved manufacturability, and for reduced cost.
In accordance with the invention, a knife comprises a knife body having a first body end, a second body end, a top, and a bottom, and at least one implement (e.g., a cutting blade, file, scissors, or other implement) extending from the knife body at the first body end and lying in an implement plane. The implement may be fixedly or pivotably joined to the knife body at the first body end. An attachment structure comprises a gate attachment integral with the knife body at a first location, and an attachment arm integral with the knife body at a second location, which may be at or near the second body end of the knife. The attachment arm has an attachment-arm end separated from the gate attachment. Stated alternatively, a fixed attachment extends laterally from the top of the knife body in the implement plane. At least one of the gate attachment and the attachment-arm end is positioned laterally from the knife body so that there is an attachment separation therebetween. A gate has a first gate end and a second gate end, and the first gate end is pivotably joined to the gate attachment, preferably by a gate-pivot pin. The gate is pivotable in the implement plane between a closed position wherein the second gate end lies adjacent to the attachment-arm end and an open position wherein the second gate end is separated from the attachment-arm end to form an opening between the gate attachment and the attachment-arm end. The gate is biased toward the closed position.
In one embodiment, the gate attachment and/or the attachment arm are integral with the knife body along the knife body top. Desirably, the second gate end is closer to the knife body top when the gate is in the open position than when the gate is in the closed position. In this embodiment, the second gate end contacts the attachment-arm end when the gate is in the closed position.
The present invention provides a knife construction which is strong and adapted to the use of the described attachment structure. It includes in one construction embodiment an implement-support plate to which a base of the implement is pivotably attached at the first end of the knife body, and an attachment plate from which the gate attachment and the attachment arm extend. The implement-support plate and the attachment plate typically lie in a side-by-side relation. Preferably, two implement-support plates form the knife body. Optionally, separate side bolsters that form the external sides of the knife body may be provided in a side-by-side relation with the implement-support plate and the attachment plate. More preferably, however, there are two implement-support plates, and these two implement-support plates form the external sides of the knife body as well as support the implement(s).
Where the implement is pivotable, a spring arm may extend from the attachment plate and contact the base of the implement. Where the implement base has a cam surface thereon that is contacted by the spring arm, the implement movement may be given a detent action at the closed and/or open positions.
The attachment structure is particularly well suited for quick, reliable external attachment to and detachment from bulky objects. Attachment and detachment are readily accomplished with one hand in most cases. Such bulky objects include, for example, a ring attachment of the handle of a purse or brief case, a D-ring or ring, a rope, and the like. Conventional spring attachments of the type found on writing pens and many knives cannot readily be used to attach the combination tool to such bulky objects.
In conventional knives with belt clips, the force required to open the clip increases with increasing size of the gap that is desired. The result is that attachment of the clip to another article becomes increasingly difficult with increasing thickness of the other article. The clip attachment cannot easily attach to and detach from thick rings and other bulky articles because of the increasing force required to open the clip to the required size, and because the rings are too thick to pass easily through the resulting attachment gap in the clip structure easily. With the present approach, by contrast, the spring-loaded pivoting gate opens widely with only slightly increased biasing force to be overcome by the user, and then reliably closes to retain the attachment to the other article.